Steve Ward & Associates Blog

We have an exciting announcement to share with you! This year, Steve Ward & Associates, is participating in No Shave November! If you are unfamiliar with this, it's a charity drive to promote awareness and support for cancer charities. We would like to invite you to join in on the fun! We have created a team competition amongst our internal teams to see who can raise the most money. Donations are collected and participates raise awareness by not shaving for the month of November. The collected donations are split between the participating charities and donated directly to the organization through their website.

I’ve heard many people talking about “classrooms of the future,” but is the future really so far away? In today’s age where there is an immediate availability of information and global communication at the touch of a button, is it really that forward thinking to design collaborative educational spaces? Technology has changed our world and subsequently, has changed the way we educate and learn.

Welcome to Custom Millwork 101! Custom millwork, or architectural millwork, is defined as “ready-made millwork as obtained from the mill, especially fabricated to meet the specifications for a particular job, as distinguished from standard or stock items or sizes” (McGraw-Hill, 2003).”

Today we are going to break this down; what does this mean exactly and how does it help me? But before we do this, let’s first talk about standard product offerings.

A couple of weeks ago we posted a general overview of hospital headwall systems. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend doing so! Today we want to dive in a little further and specifically discuss how hospital headwalls can effectively provide improved patient care.

This morning I purchased a blueberry muffin from a local bakery. My only request when ordering was for the attendee to warm the muffin for me before it was served. Having observed the ovens in the background and with the smell of fresh baked goods in the air, this didn't seem like an unreasonable request at the time. I guess that is why I was somewhat caught off guard when I was directed to a microwave on the other side of the restaurant lobby and told that I was welcome to heat it up myself.

A hospital is a fast-paced, ever-evolving environment that requires efficiency and structure, but also flexibility. I have many friends in the healthcare field who make regular comments about the challenges with which they are confronted to find ways to be better, faster, more cost effective, and more efficient. To accomplish these goals, modular and innovative furniture systems have become instrumental to success. With this in mind, one such item that has become a staple in hospital settings is the pre-fabricated hospital headwall system.

A few weeks ago, I walked into a recently renovated hospital and only one word popped into my head, “Wow!”. That got me thinking; what are truly the “wow factors” that make a project spectacular? As designers, architects, general contractors and facilitators of commercial spaces, we are all looking for the perfect flare to take our projects to the next level and provide superior customer satisfaction. A product that has recently been in the spotlight due to its’ ability to do just this is Marlite wall systems.

Love the look of wood but afraid it will hurt your pocketbook? Many organizations in the healthcare, education and other commercial spaces are in the same boat. We are all under a fiscal crunch to some extent to obtain the best results at the lowest possible cost.